Quick Lamb Biryani-Special aromatic spiced lamb and rice

Biryani is one of the original Mughal delicacies – an aromatic feast of rice and meat that is slow-cooked for hours and traditionally served at Eid. My earliest memories of it are when my dad cooked it at home. We sisters waited patiently for lunch until 4 pm, by which time we were ready to rip the flour-sealed lid off the darn thing and eat it directly out of the enormous cauldron it was baking in.

Feeds 4–6

2 tbsp milk

1 tsp saffron

5 medium onions

12 tbsp ghee

2 tbsp rose water salt

For the dry masala

1 mace flower

4  cloves

4  green cardamoms

¹/₄ tsp freshly ground nutmeg

For the lamb

1kg (2lb 3oz) diced shoulder of lamb 10 garlic cloves

5cm (2in) root ginger

3 fresh green finger chillies

15g (¹/₂oz) fresh coriander leaves

2 tsp cumin seeds

1 mace flower

1 tsp freshly ground nutmeg

1 tsp chilli powder

1 tsp garam masala

500g (1lb 2oz) natural Greek yoghurt salt

For the rice

4 cloves

2 brown cardamoms 2.5cm (1in) cinnamon stick 500g (1lb 2oz) basmati rice

1. Warm the milk and soak the saffron in it. Next make the dry masala by crushing the mace flower, cloves and green cardamoms in a coffee grinder, mix with the nutmeg and set aside.

2. Now make the marinade for the lamb. Place the diced meat in a medium mixing bowl. Peel the ginger and garlic and,using a blender or food processor, purée with the remaining ingredients to make a thick marinade, adding salt to taste. Add this to the lamb, stirring so that the pieces of meat are well coated, and leave to sit while you prepare the rest of the dish

3. Peel and finely slice the onions. In a medium pan, heat 8 tablespoons of the ghee on a high setting. When it is hot, add three of the chopped onions and sauté for 15 minutes until golden

4. Next add the lamb and all of its masala, browning the meat all over. Lower the heat to medium, cover with a lid and cook, stirring frequently, until the meat is tender. This will take about 45 minutes, depending on the quality of the lamb. If the meat dries out during cooking, add half a mug of hot water to moisten it and help it cook. Add salt to taste when it’s ready.

5. In the meantime, prepare the rice. In a large pan, heat 1 tablespoon of the ghee on a high setting. When it’s hot, sizzle the whole spices for a few seconds and add the rice. Stir for 1 minute until it starts turning translucent, and then add three mugs of water, cover with a lid and simmer for 5 minutes until half cooked. Drain the water and leave to sit.

6. In a small frying pan, heat the remaining ghee on a high setting. When it is hot, fry the remaining onions for 15 minutes until golden brown.

7. Now assemble and finish the biryani. Spread half the partly cooked rice over the bottom of a casserole dish. Sprinklehalf the dry masala over this, along with half the fried onions, rose water and saffron milk. Spread the lamb curry on top. Finally, layer with the remaining rice, dry masala, rose water and saffron milk. Seal this tightly with the lid – if it’s a bit wobbly, wrap foil tightly around the edges.

8. Place on a low heat for 20 minutes until the rice is thoroughly cooked and fluffy. Alternatively, place in the oven,preheated to 180°C (350°F), gas mark 4, and cook for a similar length of time. Then scatter with the remaining fried onions and serve piping hot, using a small plate to scoop up the biryani from the bottom of the pot to ensure that everyone gets a bit of everything. Serve with Anda Raita.